Top News:
Joe Posnanski:
Fenway and No Hitters — One of the best parts about being a sports fan is that moment before the moment when you know something remarkable is about to happen. This feeling comes over you. It's not something that you can easily explain, but you sense that someone is about to hit a home run …
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Gordon Edes / Boston Globe:
Just say no — Lester throws no-hitter at Fenway Park — He put the ball in his cowboy boot. A temporary refuge, to be sure, but a measure of how Jon Lester chose to wear his fame on a magical, windswept Monday night in May. — The Red Sox lefthander threw a no-hitter …
Discussion:
Boston Sports Media Watch, Projo SoxBlog, YanksBlog.com, Rany on the Royals and Baseball Musings
Rob Bradford / Boston Herald:
After shaky warmup, Jon Lester able to sizzle — Jon Lester didn't feel like himself. — “I wasn't worried,” the Red Sox [team stats] starter said, “but I was.” — This was the beginning of a story filled with plenty of twists and turns, one that ended last night when Lester became …
Bob Klapisch / NorthJersey.com:
Halls of Fame — Throughout this final season of memories at both Shea and Yankees Stadium, we will look back at all the great times we have shared with our teams and fellow fans. — Yankees — Klapisch: Some troubling times for Girardi — It's not often the Yankees are thankful for a Mets' crisis …
Discussion:
Sliding Into Home
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Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Support for Girardi, a Bit Less for Cashman — Not long ago, a humbling weekend for a stumbling Yankees team could have provoked the principal owner, George Steinbrenner, into criticizing the manager. Times have changed, but only to a point. — Hank Steinbrenner, who is co-chairman …
Discussion:
New York Post, New York Sun, Bats, FanHouse, iYankees, Sliding Into Home, Bronx Banter, WasWatching.com and River Ave. Blues
Roger Rubin / NY Daily News:
Heavy heart for Mets' Pedro — PORT ST. LUCIE - Pedro Martinez may be on the fast track back into the Mets' starting rotation, but he is traveling that road with a heavy heart. — After facing minor leaguers in game competition Monday at Tradition Field, Martinez was equal parts enthusiasm and concern in an extended interview.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, MetsBlog.com, Kranepool Society, Hot Stove New York, Chop-n-Change and FanHouse
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Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Martinez could be back next week — Expected to throw bullpen session Wednesday or Thursday — ATLANTA — The reunion of Pedro Martinez and the Mets, not to be confused with the return of Martinez to active duty, is to happen this week while the team is here to play four games in three days against the Braves.
Discussion:
Shea Nation
Josh Curtis / New York Observer:Why the Yankees and Mets Don't Get What They Pay For
Discussion:
Mets Merized Online
ESPN:
Five MLB teams on the brink? — The Tigers, Rockies, Padres, Mariners and Yankees are all off to slow starts this season, raising questions about their viability as contenders. Are these five teams' hopes for this season dead or alive? With apologies to Rob's good friend and frequent collaborator …
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Scott Miller / CBS SportsLine.com:With little power or speed, cellar-dwelling Padres don't have a prayer
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
ESPN.com:
Piazza hangs up catching gear after 19 seasons — BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Mike Piazza is retiring from baseball following a 19-season career in which he became one of the top-hitting catchers in history. — “After discussing my options with my wife, family and agent …
Dan Graziano / New Jersey Online:
Yanks, Mets likely bidders for Teixeira — They have, for reasons fair and unfair, become the symbols of what's wrong with New York's baseball teams. Highly paid, once-great sluggers in the final years of huge contracts. Jason Giambi and Carlos Delgado have started this year slowly …
Discussion:
River Ave. Blues
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Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
Amid big expectations, just paper Tigers so far — The ashtray is filled with cigarette butts and the pack of Marlboros is sitting next to an empty bag of chips inside the visiting manager's office at Arizona's Chase Field, but Jim Leyland is just getting started.
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
Yanks May Be Scratching Surface of Sox Items at New Stadium — If inexperienced pitchers and key injuries were not enough to explain the Yankees' struggles, fans may have a new reason. — On MSNBC's “Countdown With Keith Olbermann” on Monday night, Olbermann reported that the construction worker …
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ESPN:
Surgery not a certainty, but Jones has tear in right knee — LOS ANGELES — Andruw Jones underwent an MRI on Monday that revealed a slight cartilage tear in his right knee, and the Dodgers will wait a few days to see if the center fielder will have to undergo surgery.
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Tony Jackson / Inside the Dodgers:Dodgers 6, Reds 5 — We learned after the game that Andruw Jones …
Discussion:
6-4-2
Matthew Leach / MLB.com:
Draft day could bring pitcher for Cards — With farm system on rise, club leaning toward college hurler — With their highest Draft pick in eight years, the Cardinals have an exciting opportunity in front of them next month in the First-Year Player Draft.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Steve Treder / Hardball Times:
The 10 worst cleanup hitters since 1957 — So far in this series, we've examined leadoff hitters, second-slot hitters and No. 3 men. Now it's time to focus on the very worst No. 4 hitters of the past half-century (defined as starting at least one-half of their team's games in that lineup slot).
